


Take It As Read

by keepyourpantsongohan



Category: Naruto
Genre: Chakra Medical Science, Developing Relationships, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Romance, Sloaners Secret Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 09:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17201276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepyourpantsongohan/pseuds/keepyourpantsongohan
Summary: “Sakura,” says Ino, not bothering to hide the concern in her tone. “Mind explaining to me what you’re doing again?”“Fūinjutsu,” announces Sakura, as though it’s obvious.“Fūinjutsu,” Ino repeats dubiously. She tilts her head as far as she can so she can make some attempt to meet Sakura’s eyes. “And you need to be upside down for this seal to work?”





	Take It As Read

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to ranembi, for Sloaners' Disastrous Discord's Secret Santa.

“Sakura,” says Ino, not bothering to hide the concern in her tone. “Mind explaining to me what you’re doing again?”

“Fūinjutsu,” announces Sakura, as though it’s obvious.

“Fūinjutsu,” Ino repeats dubiously. She tilts her head as far as she can so she can make some attempt to meet Sakura’s eyes. “And you need to be upside down for this seal to work?”

Sakura does what probably constitutes a shrug by her standards, but from Ino’s vantage point looks more like some strange form of push-up. “That’s what the textbook says,” she replies easily. 

Scattered objects throughout the surrounding field really should have given all the clues Ino needed. There’s a notebook, like the ones Sakura carries when she’s researching a new concept and needs to write ideas down for later examination. Sakura’s headband lays on the ground, probably taken off when she’d discovered how uncomfortable it was to have metal pressing into her head while doing a headstand. There’s a book, and a bag which has loose papers spilling out. There even seems to be an empty bento box, indicating just how long Sakura has been at this activity so far.

Ino stares heavenward, and then sits down on the grass in front of Sakura. Her knees are going to stained green by the end of this, she’s sure. “Need a spotter?” she asks, with half a smile.

While she has no doubt that Sakura could hold herself in this position for a full day if she needed to, Ino would be lying if she said she hadn’t come to the training field looking for Sakura’s company. And by now she’s learned that even Sakura’s weird ideas are usually good ones.  _A good mind_ , her father would probably say, if he were here. And she’s inclined to agree.

“Actually, I could use your help with the next few directions,” Sakura says, lifting one hand from the ground to point behind her. “Could you read from that book?”

Ino picks up a large, weathered, brown tome that looks as if it’s been burned in several places, and suffered water damage in others. She hefts it up into her grasp and runs her hand along one of the pages. “Sakura, this thing is like a hundred years old. And half the page is gone. How can this help you learn about sealing?”

Sakura’s face lights up. “It came from Tsunade-shishō’s grandmother, Uzumaki Mito,” she explains. “She was the forerunner to storing chakra in our foreheads! Her seals have lessons I can’t even begin to comprehend.”

It’s easy to forget how much her friend enjoys research, not just the practical applications, but the mechanical breakdown of chakra that none of their other classmates had ever taken such an interest in. Though Ino loves being able to heal people, theory had been the most boring part of their lessons. But Sakura had taken to it like a moth to a flame.  _Same old Sakura_ , she muses, sighing.

“These instructions are probably outdated,” Ino says first, and Sakura swats at her knee. “But I  _think_  the section after, ‘Head to the earth,’ says something like… ‘Your knees at your limit?’ How does that work? This doesn’t even involve any hand signs!”

Sakura tucks her knees in closer to her chest, still, to Ino’s dismay, upside down. “She probably means the  _Gate_  of Limit, in the abdomen,” Sakura says, her voice now partly muffled by her knees.

Ino lays down on the grass, perpendicular to her friend’s wayward limbs, so she once again has a better chance of looking at Sakura’s face. “Are you trying to release your inner gates?” she asks. The question is asked lightly, but their shared gaze is serious.

Sakura’s brows draw together. “I’m not interested in destroying my chakra pathways,” she declares firmly, lifting her face a bit. Ino’s shoulders sag in relief. “But the Gates are about how chakra flows, right? So I think this is about ensuring that my chakra is in the right position to flow as quickly as possible.”

In principle, it’s not so different from the  _kata_  they learned at the academy. But that had been focused on stamina, and it’s hard to imagine that the best flow of chakra for any body part is positioning oneself as if they are performing in a circus.

“Chakra flows best through gymnastics?” Ino asks.

“It flows through dedication and control,” says Sakura proudly. It would look a lot more dignified if it weren’t for her position. She crosses her eyes at her companion. “Now quit distracting me and read.”

Ino snorts. “You like it when I distract you,” she says. She picks the book up anyway.

Sakura’s cheeks are pinker when she looks at her next, but Ino’s not sure how much of it is teasing and how much of it is prolonged excess blood flow to the head. “It says something about… asking questions. That’s what it looks like to me at least. There’s a lot missing from this section.”

Frowning, Sakura asks, “Can you show me?”

Ino holds the book up to her friend’s face, adjusted for her angle. “See?”

Sakura hums to herself. Ino watches her think for a moment. “That might be the symbol for healing,” she muses. “Which would mean the brain, the Gate of Healing.”

A giggle escapes Ino reluctantly. “How are you going to fit your brain into these acrobatics, Billboard Brow?”

The nickname has its intended effect. A light sparks in Sakura’s eyes, visible even from their awkward positions. “The same way I do everything important, Ino-pig,” Sakura teases. “With a little teamwork.”

Ino leans her head back. “Lucky for you, teamwork is my specialty. What do you need?”

“Hold my face,” Sakura orders.

Skeptical as she is, Ino lets the book fall open on her stomach so she can lean both hands up to cup Sakura’s cheeks. Although Sakura’s warm face is a welcome feeling beneath her hands, she murmurs, “And this isn’t distracting?”

Sakura bares her teeth at Ino’s palm playfully, halfway between a smile and a good-humoured warning. “You’re holding the wrong part. It’s my temple where the tenketsu point is located, and you know it.”

“Sorry,” Ino says, not the least bit sincere. She shifts her hands upwards, still grazing the tops of her cheekbones, but with her thumbs resting at Sakura’s temples. “Better?”

Sakura clears her throat, and offers a low, “Yes,” which is quickly followed by a more intent, “I do still need you to read the next instruction.”

The section following had been less damaged, so she doesn’t need to give the book more than a passing glance to deliver the newest ancient instruction. “It says, ‘Your lotus in line.’ You know, this reads more like a cipher than a textbook. Are all of Mito-sama’s notes like puzzles?”

Sakura’s expression becomes solemn. “People feared fūinjutsu a lot in those days, according to Tsunade-shishō. If it were all laid out clearly, then it’d be easy for someone to misuse it.” Ino’s eyes must give away something of her alarm, because Sakura adds, “This book may be about medical sealing, but that doesn’t mean people wouldn’t want to steal them anyway.”

Ino can’t completely call herself a stranger to that notion. Given their powers over the mind, whenever Konoha has wanted something that didn’t belong to them, her people were often the ones sent out to retrieve it. Still, by some miracle, or more likely, by their teacher’s iron will, their medical units have come out of it all surprisingly unscathed. So much so that they’ve been able to expand at a higher rate than any other village, in large part thanks to her and Sakura’s efforts. It’s jarring to hear of a time where they might not have been so lucky.

“Medical seals, huh,” Ino contemplates aloud. It’s certainly outside the boundaries of the normal medical ninja studies. “What is this seal even supposed to do?”

“If I’m reading it right, it should be able to hold someone in stasis, so a single seal can prevent someone’s physical condition from changing. If everything works out, then this could become a crucial tool in making sure no shinobi dies en route to medical treatment.”

Ino lets out a soft, impressed breath.  _There’s a reason Kakashi-sensei gives her so much leeway in running the new medical programs._  “And if you’re reading it wrong?”

“Then it’s a very bad homemade cure for a cold,” says Sakura, with a bit of amusement in her voice. “The mystery is part of the fun, I guess. ‘Lotus in line?’”

“Yes. If these steps are referring to chakra pathways, then she must be talking about the spine, right?”

Sakura leans her face into Ino’s palm. “Now you’re catching on,” she says cheerfully. “It’s probably about the alignment of my body. I have to straighten my back.”

Shifting forward while still keeping her hands on the ground beside her head proves to be tricky, and when Sakura pitches forward a little too far, Ino reaches out a steadying hand to her midriff, resting along her side to offer support. This time, she isn’t sure if the warmth is Sakura or herself. “How aren’t you dizzy by now?”

Sheepishly, Sakura admits, “I am, a little. I’d been doing this for a while before you got here.” She lifts one hand again to join Ino’s, slowly but steadily guiding her fingers back alongside their counterparts.

Though she doesn’t rebel against the change, Ino does offer her thoughts. “Somehow I can’t see the Shodai Hokage’s wife doing this.”

With a chuckle, Sakura nods, the movement made odder by her stance. “It would make for a strange-looking statue.”

“Especially if she got the Hokage to do my part.” They share a moment of pause at that, suddenly reminded that they have both seen their village’s first leader in person, and giggle. Narrowing her eyes a little, Ino adds, “Although  _he_  could probably provide some kind of back support to prevent strain.”

“I get exactly the kind of support I need.” A teeter follows which belies her claim, Ino wonders if Sakura might be more woozy than she’s letting on. Ino opens her mouth to protest, but Sakura interjects before she has the opportunity to voice the admonishment. “Next step, please.”

Pulling up her own knees, Ino gives the text the exasperated look that her company won’t allow. They’re at the part of the page which has most suffered from burns, and it is harder to make things out clearly. She says as much, and then offers, “I think it might be saying to close your eyes. From what I can make out, the only way the strokes on this page makes sense is if they’re referring to, ‘Light unseen.’”

Sakura abides by the request, letting her eyes fall shut. “That instruction’s pretty simple. Are you sure that’s all it says?”

“Oh, and one more thing.” Ino’s eyes flicker away. With a split second look at the book she says, “It says you study too hard, and you should take a break from being a hero to spend time with the people who love you.” She presses her thumbs lightly into Sakura’s temples.

Sakura opens one eye. “We spent a whole day shopping together last week!”

They had. Sakura had shown up at her doorstep in the morning, just as Ino showed up to this field, enthusiastic words about antlers and herbs flying out of her mouth. Through their missions, Ino has discovered her own preference for healing lies more with the mind than the body, but she’d been more than happy to spend the day trotting between stalls and shops, if only to share in the earnest ambition to learn.

Ino’s positive that Sakura is the only person in the world who can describe the psychoactive effects of plants in a way that keeps her attention.

 _“This cactus would be perfect for a case study on hallucinogenic plants,”_  Sakura had said, when they’d stopped by the Yamanaka flower shop.  _“Do you know what this means?”_

 _“No, but I do know what a cactus means in the language of flowers,”_  she’d joked, smiling, only to receive a pointed elbow at her side. But she’d listened afterwards, to Sakura’s research methods, and about all the shinobi she could help.  _That we could help together,_  Ino had thought, supposing she could spend a hundred days like this, in her mother’s flower shop and in the market with her best friend, a woman who wants to save the world twice over.

A fondness wells up in her at the thought, she pushes it down, electing to squish Sakura’s face beneath her fingers.

“Collecting supplies for medicine doesn’t count,” Ino counters. She puts on her best stern expression, though it’s hard to maintain it through the affection. “You’re Konoha’s youngest lead medic. You should know how important it is to rest.”

“You might be right,” concedes Sakura, through the web of Ino’s fingers, “but we always end up talking more than resting.”

A fair point, if Ino were trying to play fair. But she isn’t, so she grins. “It’s not my fault I’m so interesting.”

Sakura closes her second eye. It appears she isn’t playing fair either, because she smiles into Ino’s hands and says, “If I make enough progress out here, I’ll show you interesting.”

These kinds of words are commonplace between them now. The types of phrases that had once been the very reason they’d grown apart, directed elsewhere. Always the suggestion of  _more_ , in a way that makes Ino’s head as dizzy as Sakura’s is. Like Sakura, Ino thinks there might be some kind of breakthrough just waiting to happen, but each is content to share in quick bursts of heat that mark the road of anticipation.

It’s Ino’s turn to flush. She covers it up with a sigh, and offers what she knows. “Lead with your heart.”

Sakura looks bemused, but responds with endearing sincerity, “I am.”

Tilting her chin towards the book, she clarifies, “No, I mean, that’s what it says. ‘Lead with your heart.’”

“That’s… vague.”

Every instruction is vague, by Ino’s estimation. It’s sort of the whole point. While she’s spent enough time around interrogation and subterfuge to understand the necessity for encrypting information, it’s not a very practical way to learn new jutsu. “No kidding. You don’t think it’s a Gate thing, do you? Because no matter what Mito-sama’s texts say, there’s no way you should open the tenketsu point at your heart. You saw what happened to Gai-sensei.”

Shaking her head, Sakura says, “It’s not that kind of jutsu. Maybe it’s like with the brain? You just have to stimulate blood flow to the area.”

Ino arches an eyebrow. “Are you asking me to grab your chest, Sakura?”

Both of Sakura’s eyes fly open. “Ino!”

“It’s a valid question!”

“I’m asking you to put your hand over my heart,” Sakura gripes, face even brighter than her hair. “It’s completely different.”

“I don’t see how it’s that different,” Ino mutters, but she does as she’s been told, and moves one of her hands from Sakura’s face to precisely where she knows Sakura’s heart will be. She can feel its swift pace, probably from either exertion or embarrassment. “So, is it working?”

“I’m not sure. Does my chakra feel any different to you?” Eyes closed again, Sakura gathers her chakra in her fingers, and lifts one hand to place it over Ino’s again. This time, she doesn’t move it away, letting the green light of her jutsu envelop them both.

Ino tries to sense if there’s something new about the energy she knows almost as well as her own, but all she can focus on is the soft weight of Sakura’s hand, pressing her own to her heart. For once, she finds herself a little short of words, so she lays there, staring in wonder at her off-kilter, brilliant, ridiculous best friend.

“Ino?”

“Hmm?”

Sakura laughs, still maintaining her jutsu, a pleasant tingle against the back of Ino’s hand. “My chakra? Has it changed?”

Narrowing her focus away from Sakura to simply their overlapping fingers proves difficult, but she’s not a Yamanaka for nothing. “The chakra itself isn’t different,” she observes carefully. But after another moment of contemplation she says, “The rate of discharge is, though. It’s a little faster, and more steady than the crests and troughs of your normal medical ninjutsu.”

The look on Sakura’s face is nothing short of ecstatic as they lock gazes again. “I’ll take it.”

“It might just be your own progress as a shinobi that’s changed it,” Ino reminds her, but can’t help but share in her happiness.

“I know. But it’s one step closer than I was yesterday.” Sakura lets her body drop, bracketing Ino with her legs. “That’s enough for today,” she says, a smile overtaking her face.

“I’ve never known you to give up anything so easily,” Ino teases. With Sakura hovering above her like that, her hair tickles Ino’s face, so she reaches out and tucks a few strands behind her ear. Ino thinks for one long moment about leaning upward and closing the gap between them, but can’t bring herself to part with seeing her content expression.

“I’m not giving up,” she insists, face the colour of cherry blossoms, but eyes no less bright. “I’m following Mito-sama’s advice.”

“Oh? And what is that?”

“I’m letting my heart lead.” Sakura takes Ino’s hand, and pulls her up. In a moment, her bag hangs on one shoulder, while the other bumps into Ino’s as they lock their arms together. “C’mon, you owe me dinner.”

“Awfully ungrateful of you to make your research assistant pay,” says Ino, in tones of mock consternation.

Sakura rolls her eyes and leans her head on Ino’s shoulder. “Then I owe _you_ dinner. We’ll stop at the market to pick up supplies.”

“Eating your cooking might be one of the biggest dangers a kunoichi could face,” Ino says, but she intertwines their fingers and lets Sakura guide her onward anyway, laughing all the while.


End file.
